


Spring Waters

by RealityFighter



Category: Naruto
Genre: De-Aged Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:54:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25383391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityFighter/pseuds/RealityFighter
Summary: On his way back from his mission, Tobirama  crosses path with Madara. Somehow this leads him to travel the way back to the Senju compound with two children, one of them a de-aged Madara.
Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara
Comments: 25
Kudos: 368





	Spring Waters

Tobirama was on his way back from his mission. He was exhausted and not expecting anyone in the middle of the dessert, so he was all the more surprised seeing Madara emerge from behind a nearby boulder. He had been the tiniest bit too slow, and in the next moment everything went dark.

He woke to the sound of a crying child. Slowly his mind cleared, and he remembered what had happened. He stayed still, pretending to be still unconscious, and getting a feeling of his surroundings. He was not bound in any way and he had full capacity of his chakra. His senses revealed two smaller chakra systems beside him, one of an untrained child at the age of two. The other’s chakra pathways were developed but muted, older than the first but still a child. He opened his eyes; in the light of the moon he saw the smaller one of the two was crying and clutching at the robes of the other one desperately.

After a lot of coaxing and soothing Tobirama worked out that the smaller one of the two was called Kagami. Kagami had been kidnapped while playing outside of the compound, and Madara had come to rescue him. Madara who was now in in the body of an approximately eight-year-old child, after drinking the water of Tobirama’s water canteen. The very same he had used to store the water of the famous fountain of youth, which he had taken an extra detour for from his regular mission. Well, at least he knew now the water was working.

A quick diagnostic jutsu revealed that Madara was simply asleep due to severe chakra depletion.

Their water supply did not look as promising, all in all they had just the one canteen Tobirama had sealed within his body. But for three people, and two of them children, it was not nearly enough to cross the desert towards fire country. They had to take the long way around, across the stone desert and the raining plains and further across half the forest of the north-western part of fire country. It would be a lot more dangerous.

He was looking out into the desert, Kagami in his lap, sleeping, one of Tobirama’s hands gently stroking his black locks. He had thought about what he should do with these two. Well, Kagami’s case was quite clear. Even if he was an Uchiha, he was still just an innocent child, and Tobirama would never leave a child to its misery. Madara on the other hand was the clan head, and it was not certain how long he would remain a child or if he ever would shift back to his adult self in the near future, or if the body was one of a child but the mind remained the one of an adult. The ancient texts were quite divided about this part of the effect of the water. If he would remain a child, it would be cruel to leave him behind. On the other hand, this was a one in a time chance to get rid of his clan’s biggest threat.

But whom could he delude? Tobirama had sworn, after Itama’s death, to never harm a child in any way – if possible – and at the moment that included Madara.

The change in the breathing pattern told Tobirama that Madara was waking up. He could tell the moment Madara registered his surroundings. He leaped to his feet, stumbling in his too-big clothing. His eyes were wide open, the sharingan activated. Tobirama had collected Madara’s weapons and armour as a precaution.

“Who are you?” he probably tried to sound threatening but missed by a mile. Tobirama could see when he detected the sleeping child on Tobirama’s lap, the Uchiwa proudly displayed on Kagamis back. With a big leap, and not letting his eyes stray from Tobirama’s face, Madara reached out, grabbed Kagami’s shirt and hauled him behind his back.

“I … I won’t let you hurt him.”

“I am not going to hurt either of you.” Well that actually cleared the issue if Madara could remember who he was, and his stumbling and his overall tactics did reveal a still untrained child.

“You have red eyes, but you are not an Uchiha. So how can I believe you?”

To Tobirama’s (and Madara’s) surprise it was Kagami who settled the situation. He had woken up from the rough handling, a sob was working its way out his heaving chest. Madara tied to keep him save behind him, but with a seemingly unnatural strength for such a small child Kagami shoved Madara to the side, so he could worm past Madara. With a stumbling run he collided with Tobirama’s chest and was holding on as if his life depending on it. The sobbing got louder and louder. It was heart shattering.

Gently Tobirama pattered Kagami’s hair and back, muttering sweet nothings to calm the child down. A hiccup coming form Madara let Tobirama look at him. Madara still stood there, at the other end of the cave, trembling and slowly working himself up into a panic. Tobirama did not know what to do. On instinct he opened one of his arms, the other still holding Kagami close to himself. In the next moment he had a sobbing Uchiha clan head in his arms, clutching his light amour.

  
*  
  


They traveled, they traveled slowly. Routes which Tobirama could travel in one day, now took three. Madara was strong and had a big stamina for an eight-year-old, but that still did not reach the level of an adult. Kagami was traveling on Tobirama’s back; Tobirama had taught him the basics of chakra control so Kagami could stick to him with chakra if the need arose. They needed more breaks and they could not travel at night.

Traveling since one and a half weeks, they would need two further days to reach the Uchiha and Senju territories.

It had rained the whole day but had been clearing up for the last three hours. Tobirama had chosen one of the Hatake winter quarters for the night, certain they would be safe there. The Hatake were a nomadic clan, roam across whole fire country and further. As it was now early into the summer month, the campsite lay abandoned at the hillside and near the hot springs. The hot springs were the main reason he had chosen this place instead of others along the way.

They were wet and muddied and a hot bath would be welcomed and would prevent the children from getting sick.

After getting settled into one of the small caves, he had rinsed their clothes in one of the lower pools and laid them out to dry.

He helped the children to wash and created with a small doton jutsu a smaller pool and filled it with warm water, perfect for Kagami to sit in and near enough to the bigger and scaling hot pool for Tobirama to supervise from.

  
*  
  


Tobriama was watching Madara at the opposite side of the pool. Madara’s character was unique and Tobirama finally understood why his brother was so obsessed with this friendship. He wondered how a child with such a propensity for drama would grow into one of the strongest shinobi of his time. He had always wondered about his brothers fights with Madara on the battlefield. They were unbelievably loud. Their fights had always so much shouting and wild gestures, that he had wondered time and time again, if they understood the meaning of being a stealthy and clever, of being a shinobi.

Madara was looking at him now, the small childish face frowning. As if he had come to some sort of conclusion Madara’s face went smooth, he stood and waded over to Tobirama. His hands found Tobirma’s shoulders and with the most serious face and voice he declared:

“When I am gown up, I am going to marry you.”

_What?_

“What?” Tobirama answered, dazed.

“I am going to marry you. You are strong and smart, you are good with children, and you have red eyes.” Madara elaborated while ticking of each argument at his fingers.

“I can’t marry you, Madara.” Tobirama stated carefully.

“Why not?”

“I am a Senju.” Madara’s frowning face was back.

“Is that all?”

“Well, that’s a big part of it.”

“Then I am going to do in anyway.” Madara pouted.

“And how are you going to do that? Kidnapping me?” Tobirama chuckled. Children’s trains of thoughts were always so different and simpler than adult’s.

Not to deepen this topic, Tobirama distracted Madara with reviewing lessons of walking on water and how to use one’s chakra to regulate body-temperature. He was surprised by Madara's intellect, as he mastered the lessons in just a few hours.

Tobirama woke to a soft groaning, he looked to the side, looking for the source of these noises of pain. Madara was laying beside him, clutching his blanked, his face twisted with pain and writhing on the ground. Had he grown in the last few hours? Slowly he raised his hands and placed them on Madara’s head, trying to soothe the pain.

  
***  
  


Two weeks had gone by ever since he had woken up in the woods. He had been naked only covered by a thin blanket. Kagami had slept beside him, he as well was only covered by a blanket but a thicker one. They were the only ones on the campsite. He had discovered their cloth and his amour just out of arms reach, clean and neatly folded. There had also been food, just enough for the two of them for the next few days.

He had no memories how he came to at this place, the last thing he remembered was getting a letter from Izuna informing him, that Kagami had been kidnapped. He had taken off like a madman; he had found the kidnappers and showed them the real wrath of an Uchiha. Everything after that was a blank.

It was in the middle of the night; he was pondering about the best battle tactic for the fight tomorrow with the Senju clan. The whole day he had had an enormous headache, and even the pain reducing tea was not working. A sharp stab and a multitude of memories surfaced; memories of a white-haired man with fur around his shoulders and an Uchiha child on his back. Of the Senju demon cooking and smiling; teaching him how to manipulate chakra. Of deep red eyes watching him, and he declaring he was going to marry the Senju.

_What the fuck?_

What the fuck was that? Did that really happened or was that a figment his brain produced to explain the missing memories and the newfound reluctance of badmouthing Tobirama. Because he had been _Tobirama_ for a while now in his head.

Madara stepped on the battlefield. He still did not know what to do with his realisation. He had decided to do as he always did, playing by intuition.

The Senju were on the other side of the battlefield, ready to fight at a moment’s notice. And for the first time, his sight did not settle on Hashirama, his long-time friend and rival, but instead on the white-haired Senju beside him.

Tobirama’s face was serious, his red eyes narrowed taking in the battlefield, and working on a deathly tactic.

And this was it, this was the moment of truth. And Madara raised his gunbai, pointing towards the Senju brothers and for the first time in all the long years they were battling each other he shouted:

“TOBIRAMA!” instead of Hashirama’s name. A long pause, all the eyes were on him now.

“MARRY ME!”

~ end ~


End file.
